Chapter 64 - Stubb's Supper Practice Quiz — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 64 - Stubb's Supper
What task opens Chapter 64?
The crew of three boats tows Stubb's killed whale back to the Pequod in calm seas, an effort that takes hours and demonstrates the enormousness of the mass.
How does Ahab react to the dead whale?
He vacantly eyes it, issues orders to secure it for the night, and retires to his cabin in dissatisfaction, reminded that Moby Dick is still unslain.
What does Stubb order Daggoo to do?
Cut a steak from the whale's "small" (the tapering tail section) so Stubb can eat before sleeping.
Where and how does Stubb eat his whale steak?
At midnight, at the capstan-head (used as a sideboard), lit by two sperm-oil lanterns, standing with his legs wide apart.
What are the sharks doing while Stubb eats?
Thousands of sharks swarm around the dead whale, scooping out globular pieces of blubber the size of a human head and slapping the hull with their tails.
What does Stubb order Fleece to do about the sharks?
He orders Fleece to go preach to them, telling them they may eat freely but must keep quiet.
Who is Fleece?
The Pequod's elderly Black cook, about ninety years old, with bad knees, who uses his cooking tongs as a walking cane.
Where was Fleece born?
On a ferry-boat crossing the Roanoke River ("'Hind de hatchway, in ferry-boat, goin' ober de Roanoke").
What is the main message of Fleece's sermon to the sharks?
They should govern their voracious natures, share equally, and those with bigger mouths should tear off blubber for the "small fry" who cannot compete.
What does Fleece say about the relationship between sharks and angels?
"All angel is not'ing more dan de shark well goberned" — an angel is nothing more than a shark whose nature is properly governed.
How does Fleece end his sermon?
With a frustrated benediction: "Cussed fellow-critters! Kick up de damndest row as ever you can; fill your dam bellies 'till dey bust—and den die."
What does Stubb say when Fleece preaches charity to the sharks?
"Well done, old Fleece! That's Christianity; go on" — mockingly praising the sermon's moral content.
What complaint does Stubb have about the whale steak?
He claims it is overdone and too tender, insisting a whale steak must be tough.
How does Stubb tell Fleece to cook whale steak in the future?
Hold the steak in one hand and show a live coal to it with the other — meaning it should be essentially raw.
What does Stubb ask Fleece about religion?
Whether he belongs to a church. Fleece replies he once passed a church in Cape Town ("Passed one once in Cape-Down").
What does Fleece say will happen when he dies?
He himself won't go anywhere, but "some bressed angel will come and fetch him" upward.
How does the whale carcass get secured to the ship?
Tied by the head to the stern and by the tail to the bows using heavy chains, with the tail chain threaded using a wooden float and weighted line.
What parallel does Melville draw between Stubb and the sharks?
Both feast on the same whale simultaneously, and neither heeds the other's eating, collapsing the distinction between human appetite and animal voracity.
What connection does Melville make between sharks and the slave trade?
Sharks are "the invariable outriders of all slave ships crossing the Atlantic, systematically trotting alongside" to consume the dead.
What is Fleece's parting comment about Stubb?
"I'm bressed if he ain't more of shark dan Massa Shark hisself" — Stubb is more of a shark than the sharks themselves.
How does this chapter contrast Ahab and Stubb?
Ahab is moody and dissatisfied, fixated on Moby Dick; Stubb is flushed with conquest, good-natured, and takes charge of practical affairs.
What comparison does Melville use for the ship and whale moored together at night?
"Colossal bullocks, whereof one reclines while the other remains standing" — yoked together like enormous oxen.
What dark suggestion does the narrator make about watching sharks feast?
"If you have never seen that sight, then suspend your decision about the propriety of devil-worship, and the expediency of conciliating the devil."